In the latter part of the past century, machines or devices were provided for the purpose of chipping or shaving ice from blocks of ice supplied to the machine for that purpose. Some of those devices included arrangements of cutters mounted on parallel shafts which were rotated in opposite directions. By way of example, such devices are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 181,273 Low, issued Aug. 22, 1876, U.S. Pat. No. 234,397 Field, issued Nov. 16, 1880, U.S. Pat. No. 308,760 Fairman issued Dec. 2, 1884, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,048,332 Miller issued Dec. 24, 1912. When artificial refrigeration had been developed for portable units it became a practice to freeze ice in selected sizes and shapes and various combined freezing and molding or shaping devices were provided for this purpose. These machines included freezers which formed a sheet of ice and were heated periodically to release the ice and supply it to breaking rollers or chippers which chipped or crushed the ice into particles. The breaking mechanism included devices such as a pair of shafts which were rotated in opposite directions and carried pins or cutters for engagement with blocks or sheets of ice which were thereby crushed or broken. By way of example, ice making and crushing machines of this general type are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,524,815 Leeson issued on Oct. 10, 1950 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,869 Bartels issued on Dec. 6, 1960.
The crushed ice producing machines known heretofore have been used, for example, in restaurants and motels to provide a continuing supply of crushed ice and have been satisfactory for many such applications. It is desirable to provide an ice crushing machine of greater reliability over long periods of time and capable of producing a consistently uniform output of crushed ice within a selected range of sizes. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an ice crushing apparatus including an improved mechanism for effecting the production of crushed ice within a predetermining range of sizes of the pieces.
It is another object of this invention to provide a crushed ice making machine including an improved form and arrangement of ice breaking elements.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a crushed ice making machine including an improved arrangement for releasing ice from the freezing surfaces and for preventing the delivery of water to the accumulated crushed ice.